Diaries I Read:
Our party last night was a smashing success! I am so happy with how everything went, and I think everyone had a really really good time.
There was a lot of running around that went on before people showed up and right before we ate dinner, but all in all I thought it went pretty smoothly and I was able to enjoy myself instead of stressing out. People brought really yummy stuff and we had a ton of food. Too much food, really.
There are two things I should have done differently. One is that the paper plates I had were too small for hamburgers, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, baked beans, potatoes, and fluffy salad. Much too small. I should have had those hard-core big cardboard paper plates you can get at Cosco. The other thing I should have done is slice up the onion, tomato, and lettuce beforehand so I wouldn�t have to worry about it during the bit of chaos that ensued when we actually began bringing out all the food. Live and learn, right?
So we all drank margaritas and ate tons of food, and then we brought out the birthday cake at just the right moment and sang happy birthday and my mom was wearing a �Birthday Girl� crown all night and it was just generally a good time.
Oh, and everyone oohed and ahhed about the house. In fact, they almost did it too much � I was a little embarrassed! But it was really fun to show all these people who I care about where we live and what we�ve done to make our house home. They appreciated all the little things that other people sometimes miss (or just don�t comment about). That was really fun.
I had arranged my china cabinet so it looked so pretty with all my beautiful china and crystal in it. One thing, though � I�m missing a champagne flute! I only have 11! I could swear I had 12 � I even remember returning two of them because we had received too many. So I don�t know what happened. Maybe I returned one too many? It�s a mystery. Anyway, I�ll have to get one more, because one just CANNOT have 11 champagne flutes! Martha Stewart would be appalled, I�m sure.
Oh, and to make everything just that much more perfect, D had gotten her hair cut yesterday, so she was all coiffed and she looked so cute! I even put a pink bow on her! So fun!
One of my best friends was able to come, too. She and her husband packed their lives into a storage unit about six weeks ago and headed off for six months of world traveling. Their first stop was six weeks in the Caribbean. Poor things. Anyway, they got back on Tuesday, so she was able to come by and see the house and tell me about her trip and everything. She was so so so tan she didn�t look like a white girl anymore. And she said that was without even trying to get sun. They�re here for a wedding this weekend, and then next week they head off to Europe until Christmas time. Then after that, they�re heading to Australia and New Zealand. It makes me so jealous. I can�t even imagine what six weeks of vacation would be like, let alone six months! Man, but it will be hard to return to the real world after that, don�t you think? I have to say that I think they�re crazy, and B and I would never do what they�re doing simply because we�ve made, and are making, different choices right now (like a dog and a house), but I do admire the guts they have to put their �real� lives on hold and take advantage of this opportunity to do something they�ll probably never again have the chance to do. I mean, B and I won�t be able to do it, at least not in the foreseeable future. So I do admire them. But they�re still crazy.
Speaking of traveling, my parents are leaving tomorrow morning to go to Hawaii. Lucky ducks. They gave us their time share last year for our honeymoon and it was absolutely the best trip I have ever had. It was so perfect. So relaxing, so fun, so warm � just perfect. I have been aching to go back lately. Just the thought of it makes me want to be there so badly I can�t stand it. There was just something in the air. I wonder how much of it had to do with the fact that it was our honeymoon, and how much of it was just the beauty and luxury of Hawaii? I don�t know, but it sure was nice. Oh well, we can�t do it this year. But we�re planning on next year already. I can�t wait.
Well, I suppose that�s enough daydreaming for me right now. Something you don�t know about me: I sneeze in sets of two. I think I used to sneeze in threes, but lately several people have pointed out that I always sneeze in pairs. And I always sneeze. Like, I probably sneeze 20 times a day on a good day. On a bad day I probably sneeze at least 100 times. It drives B crazy. What drives me crazy is that B makes a big deal about it when I sneeze. I used to just cover my mouth when I sneezed, because that�s where stuff came flying from. But he insisted I needed to cover my nose as well, and even though I still maintain that nothing comes flying out of my nose, I have obliged and I now cover my nose and my mouth. Well, when this whole nose/mouth discussion first came about, whenever I sneezed he would act like I�d sprayed him with spit and snot. You know, he�d act like he was wiping stuff off of him and everything. The thing is, even now that I�m going along with his rules, he still does the thing where he cringes and acts like I�ve just snotted all over him. At first it was slightly (just slightly) humorous, but now it is entirely stupid and old and it makes me want to beat him up. Especially because I sneeze so often. I mean, after the 100,000th time, it�s really not funny anymore. The other thing that bugs me, although not quite as much as B�s little dramatics, is that almost every time I sneeze at work (which, as we�ve discussed, is several times a day), the people in the cubicles next to me say �bless you.� Maybe I�m a horrible person for being bothered by what is a very polite gesture, but I have to say that it just gets old. And it�s sort of embarrassing, too, because I feel like I sneeze all the time and they�re probably getting tired of hearing it and blessing me. So frankly, I would prefer it if they�d just shut up and ignore me when I sneeze. At least when we�re separated by cubicle walls. I mean, if we�re in a meeting together or something, that�s different. Oh, and while I�m on the subject, I also blow my nose quite often. I mean, when you sneeze as much as I do, it just comes with the territory. But I�ve met people before who are totally horrified and offended by people blowing their noses in public. I spoke to a girl once who went to the restroom, and expected other people to do the same, every single time she needed to blow her nose. Now, let me tell you, people, if I did that, I�d spend half of my life in the restroom. It�s just ridiculous! Maybe I�m in the minority here. Maybe all my cubicle-mates are just as disgusted with the sounds of me blowing my nose as they would be if I were sitting here farting, but I just can�t help it. I�d have to just move my cubicle into the bathroom stall otherwise. So deal with it. Also, I have to say that I�m an expert on Kleenex, or facial tissue if you want to be precise. I like the kind that have lotion in them. Like Kleenex or Puffs Plus. Or Softelle, or something like that. What I don�t like is Elair. That brand is crap. It�s like rubbing your nose with sandpaper. It�s like the tissue they offer on an airplane bathroom. So there you go. All you wanted to know and more. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzachoo!
Working at home - Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004
Toronto - Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004
On the way to Toronto... - Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2004
A Good Day - Monday, Nov. 08, 2004
Another letter - Thursday, Nov. 04, 2004